


Padtastrophe

by TransConnorDetroit



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Father-Son Relationship, Gavins like 18 in the fic, Gen, Introspection, Menatruation, Pre-Canon, Trans Gavin Reed, Unofficial Adoption, pad buying, stuffed animal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-12-07 04:15:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18229769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TransConnorDetroit/pseuds/TransConnorDetroit
Summary: When Gavin freaks out at the ultra-feminine menstruation products that Jeffrey keeps in his house, Fowler has to go on a journey of the mind and the body to bring him peace





	Padtastrophe

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment uu

Jeffrey sighed in through his nose, looking out at the racks upon racks of pads that stretched into the dingily lit convenience store. At 1:30 am, it was the last place anyone would want to be. But after what Jeffrey had seen in the bathroom, he couldn’t have been anywhere else. 

For the two months that Gavin had been staying with him, he had caused little trouble. Only the quiet shuffle of Gavin maneuvering to the kitchen late at night, and his sporadic mealtime appearances, were Gavin’s marks on his house. He had thought Gavin was settling in fine, that the boy that he had slowly grown to care for’s dysphoria was manageable now, even as he remained on the waiting list for hormone therapy. Gavin had treaded water since he had been kicked out of his house at 16, and Jeffrey thought his head was remaining afloat. 

Besides, Gavin was just staying with him. He was a young man with nowhere else to go, and Jeffrey has little right to form any undue attachment to him. Even if Gavin’s particularly young age pulled right at his heart. 

Earlier in the evening, Jeffrey had been woken by quiet sobs that filtering in from the bathroom. He had found Gavin lying hunched over in the corner of the room, hands pressed into his face as he stared down at the pale blue tile. 

It took minutes of coaxing, Gavin’s face pinched as his voice slipped between a cry and a broken sob, before he got what had happened. 

The pads had set him off. They were the ones that Jeffrey’s sister had left over at her last visit, because somehow the thought that Gavin did still menstruate had escaped his mind, and Gavin hadn’t complained before. But, he supposed, the bright pink hearts and female symbols decorating the pads had been a tipping point. 

So, after awkwardly patting Gavin on the back and escorting him back to his room, he had set out in search of something better. After all, he had caused the problem in the first place. 

He had never been in a menstruation aisle before. Of course he had a sister and a mother, but both had dealt with their periods without his help, and all of Jeffrey’s past partners that had at one point menstruated had been far enough along in their transitions to stop it. 

Even worse, the products all seemed the same to him. As he poured over the different packages, trying to decipher what exactly “heavy flow” meant (it sounded like new age shit to him, to be quite honest), someone spoke. 

“You seem lost. Do you need some help?” A woman, a young woman probably only a few years older than Gavin, looked at him with bemusement. 

“I-“ Maybe he did. “I’m getting something for a… friend of mine.”

“A friend, huh? Well, what do they need the pads for? Nighttime, daytime, everyday? If their flow is heavy, I suggest nighttime.”

“Everyday is fine, I think.” Jeffrey had no idea about Gavin’s “flow”, but it seemed like the right option. It certainly covered all of the bases. 

“You aren’t certain, are you?”

“It’s 1:30 am. I’m not at my best.”

“I can see that.” She smiled, lips curling up as Jeffrey awkwardly stood beside her.”Heavy Flow” still rested awkwardly in his hand. “Do you need a brand suggestion?”

“Yes, maybe.” 

“Any specifics?” 

He searched for what to tell her. The last thing he wanted was to bring back something that would cause Gavin even more pain, but he didn’t want to out Gavin either. It seemed a silly thing to worry about, with Gavin never having to interact with or know about the woman in front of him, but he couldn’t break his trust like that. Jeffrey’s last boyfriend had had very clear rules about who he could and couldn’t tell about his gender, but he had never hashed it out with Gavin. It had seemed unnecessary until the moment. Still, he needed to do one thing right. “I think I need something less flashy. And uhh durable, definitely durable.”

“Less flashy?” Her eyes narrowed as she hummed. “I think there may be some plain pads back here. Unless… you meant less feminine.” 

“I-“

“It’s- I’m sorry if I assumed-“

“No, no, it’s fine. My uhh… friend got his period while staying with me and he was… upset with the pad choices I had to offer.”

“Upset?” The woman frowned. “That’s, that’s always the worst. 

“I should have known better, but he never said anything before.” Jeffrey sighed. Baring himself to a stranger felt wrong, but the thought that he’d never see her again brought him some small measure of comfort. Like he was just screaming into a bag; a quick escape of emotion that he’d never have to hear from again. 

“Well, it sounds like you care a lot about him.”

“Does it?” He laughed. In the universal sense, he hadn’t been able to say no to the green eyes that had stared at him so hopefully from across the little station. But… for two months, for at least one of Gavin’s cycles, the boy had said nothing. Not a peep or a complaint to him, no hint to any of the hurt that had erupted into Gavin sobbing in the bathroom. If Jeffrey really cared so much for him, surely he would have noticed it sooner. “I can’t say I’ve been the most observant.”

“Well, you’re out here now, aren’t you? Most men I know would have waited til morning, if they even came at all.” 

Before Jeffrey could protest the praise, the woman had grabbed his hand and commenced marching him over to a tiny ledge in the aisle of pads. Right under the large and nondescript heavy duty packages clustered a row of pads in bright blue wrapping. Little rocketships and stars dotted the translucent plastic. 

“They’re for kids, but they’ll probably work, right?” 

“I think they will.” 

————–

At 2:35 in the morning, Jeffrey stumbled through the door to his apartment with arms laden with supplies. At the behest of the woman, he had gotten both a heating pack and a cold pack, as well as store-brand bottle of Tylenol. The bar of the horrific Crackle chocolate that Gavin loved to consume (he had devoured three bars in five minutes when Jeffrey had first bought him food, he remembered fondly), as well as the dark blue stuffed Dino, nearest to the one that Gavin had described as his childhood companion, were all Jeffrey’s own idea. The dinosaur might have been a step too much, the one toe over the boundary line that tipped his purchases from thoughtful to hurtful, but it had seemed so right at the time. 

“Gavin? You still up, kiddo?” 

“I’m up.” The voice came out weak, and Jeffrey couldn’t help but wince. 

“I uhh, got you stuff. I’ll bring it up to you.”

“No, no it’s fine- I can come down!” The sudden switch in tone made Jeffrey frown, and as he ascended the stairs to investigate, he locked eyes with Gavin. The boy stood in the doorway to Jeffrey’s own room, silky hair ruffled like he had been lying down. 

“Kid?”

“I- your room is the one with the TV.” Gavin’s arms crossed over his chest, and he looked pointedly at the ground. 

Jeffrey made no comment on the fact that the TV hadn’t been on. “I uh, got you these, among other things. I hope you like them.” He tossed the plastic package to Gavin. 

Catching it, Gavin turned it over, a small but real smile spreading over his face. It almost made the sight of such red eyes less painful. “Thank you.” 

“It was no problem. And while you get those on, I can set up a place for you on my bed. We can watch TV until you’re ready to sleep, if that’s alright with you.” 

Gavin gave him a salute before darting into the bathroom. He took long enough for Jeffrey to turn on the heating pad and get a glass of water for the tylenol, as well as prop a pillow up for Gavin to lean on. 

Gavin plopped down onto the bed, scooting up to hit the pillow. Jeffrey switched on the TV as he sat down besides him, making no comment when Gavin leaned over to rest his arm on his. 

“What do you want to watch?”

“Anything’s fine.” Gavin’s eyelids had started to droop, and the soft but sleepy look that only existed on small children and those recovering from emotional turmoil had overtaken him. Jeffrey decided he could take his chance. 

“You know, if you ever need to talk, I’m here. I- I may not understand everything, or much of anything, sometimes, but I care about you, little man.”

Gavin nodded, and Jeffrey realized with a small little smile that Gavin’s head had lolled onto his shoulder.

“I have something else for you too, kiddo.” He almost regretted pushing Gavin further into wakefulness, except for how Gavin’s eyes lit up at the words. 

“Present?” 

“Yeah.” 

He pushed the stuffed Dino into Gavin’s arms. As Gavin’s eyes widened, he wondered if he had gone too far, if the present was too childish and if it would only drag Gavin down even deeper into the dysphoria that he had just clawed out of. Or if it would remind Gavin of everything that he had lost, of exactly everything that Jeffrey wasn’t. 

Instead, with little tears that tottered Jeffrey’s heart on edge, Gavin smiled. Before he could speak to console him, or to decry any meaning behind him he present, Gavin had pushed into his arms. “Thank you so much, Dad.”


End file.
